Even while deep into his CHROMAKOPIA World Tour, Tyler, the Creator couldn’t help but stir the pot. People noticed something was off when he started posting cryptic photos and oddly timed captions on Instagram. That’s usually Tyler-speak for “something’s dropping soon,” and sure enough, by the time he hit Barclays Center on July 18, the hints weren’t so subtle anymore.
After his performance at Barclays Stadium on July 18, concertgoers found a giant figurine promoting DON’T TAP THE GLASS outside, along with preorder links available for vinyls, box sets, and CDs as well.
Then came the 6 a.m. album drop on July 21, with this casual PSA: “Get them expectations and hopes down, this ain’t no concept nothing.”
Which, okay, sure—but there’s still a whole visual tribute to LL Cool J’s 1987 “I’m Bad” video, so don’t act like you didn’t plan this, Tyler. He even issued a manifesto for listeners: “Body Movement. No Sitting Still. Only Speak in Glory. Leave Your Baggage at Home. Don’t Tap the Glass.”
You’d think that’d be the end of the surprises. It wasn’t.
Tyler broke his own rules—and showed what side he’s on
The ten-track project dropped on the eight-year anniversary of his Grammy-nominated album Flower Boy. He once again dropped a project on a Monday to avoid the “passive listening” and broke the cadence of album releases he’s had for years. For the first time in his career, he hasn’t dropped every other year, but has released DON’T TAP THE GLASS just nine months after CHROMAKOPIA.
To add even more fuel to the fire, Tyler dropped the visuals for “STOP PLAYING WITH ME” on July 21 as well — with some eyebrow-raising cameos.
On first glance, having LeBron James, Clipse, and Maverick Carter in your music video might just seem like a cool flex. Let’s get deeper into the lore, though:
- Pusha T (one half of Clipse) recently had an anti-Travis Scott media tour, calling him “a whore” in an interview, then dropped the Clipse comeback the same weekend JACKBOYS 2 released.
- LeBron James was posted up at Kendrick Lamar’s “The Pop Out” last summer (he’s still repping K. Dot today) —and Drake’s been in his feelings ever since, hiding tattoos and tossing stray shots.
- Maverick Carter co-founded LRMR Ventures with James, which includes companies like Uninterrupted, which ironically collabed with Drake to bring the brand to Canada in 2019
With Tyler just dropping a verse with Clipse where he calls out his enemies and states that he will “probably outgrow my heroes,” people initially thought he just had smoke with Ye. With his own “Pop Out” performance and questionable likes, it’s starting to look like Tyler’s sending messages—and making it very clear: he’s done playing nice.
